


hold me tight.

by ansutazu



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, this has nothing to do with eichi's bday at all but it's his bday fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-02 02:57:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13308972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ansutazu/pseuds/ansutazu
Summary: look, i’m fair with everyone else but you; now i can’t live a day without you. // keichi one-shot.





	hold me tight.

**Author's Note:**

> happy new year! because it's eichi's birthday, it's been one year since i've been on ao3. thank you for everything so far. please take care of me this year, too...!! i'll be doing my best.
> 
> this fic wasn't supposed to end the way it was going to, but,, it's self-indulgent i just hope it flows ok does prayer emojis

His many visits have rendered the hospital as nothing but a familiar and unwavering maze, hallways and room numbers memorized like the Buddhist prayers he had to recite whilst holding buckets outside as punishment for his crimes (they were almost always _that guy’s_ fault, though), the smell of medicine mingling with poignant aromas from his temple home that stuck to his uniform, chatter about life and death reminiscent of just about everything about the temple that would always have his name stuck to it, the temple that he can’t quite shake off due to the responsibilities it had bestowed upon him, the duties the blonde himself had given him, crumpled funeral plans from years ago tucked neatly into his wallet _just in case_ , but he hates thinking that he’d one day have to actually look at it and accept the fact that his childhood friend had finally pieced together his wings, waiting for Keito to send him off to the heavens.

He prayed that today wouldn’t be the case, walking to the familiar hospital room that his childhood friend had been placed in and opening the door, eyes already accustomed to the white walls that the blonde hated so much, the unwanted flowers that cluttered the table next to his bed, empty chairs lingering close to the bed that the blonde was in, hooked up to monitors and IV bags and other things that kept his health in check.

Eichi sits up, waving weakly at the vice president that had just walked in, though his smile is weaker and his complexion paler than what it had previously been. His grin was a result of the impending doom that squeezed his chest tight, tight, tight — so tight that he might as well just be suffocating, a method in which he might induce himself into another attack that threatened his very being. There was no doubt in his mind that Keito would be _angry_ , what with the way he stomped his way over to the bed (albeit in a way that was airy and almost feigned) and glared sharply at Eichi, lips jutting out to the familiar scowl that Keito gained when he had found some new annoyance that Eichi had built.

“You seem to be the same as ever, Keito.” Eichi laughs, though it’s hindered with the hesitation of Keito’s oncoming wrath; if he truly laughed without restraint, his lecture would very much double, and his cheeks wouldn’t be spared from Keito’s pulling. “Sorry the plan didn’t work out as well as you’d hope. It seems as if the wrong pawns had been played that day. It was interesting to play the role of the ‘victim’, though — is it weird that it gave me some sort of thrill? It was definitely something different from this _boring_ hospital. Fufu, that Morisawa sure is interesting though, isn’t he? Untying me and serving as a distraction so I can ‘escape’ — he’s a force to be reckoned with if you don’t keep an eye on him.”

“Are you done babbling about the obvious?” Keito sighs, running his fingers through his hair with a look of slight exasperation crossing his face, though it hardens again, as if the usual expression could once again strike absolute fear in Eichi’s heart (which, for the most part, it didn’t, because of the fact that he’s seen it so many times before). “This and that — are you trying to sound like a smart ass, Eichi? No, never mind, that’s very much what you sound like right now, but that’s not the reason why I’m so irritated right now. You faked being healthy, didn’t you? Saying you were alright to be a part of this plan, telling me that you were on your way to recovery anyway…ugh, I’m angry at myself, too, for believing those types of words so easily, especially since they were coming from you. Now look — you could’ve returned to school a few days ago, but now you have to stay in the hospital for another week. Incorrigible, how incorrigible! Your recklessness is getting out of hand! If you keep this up, who knows what’ll happen to you next. Seriously, instead of just tying you up and putting you in a corner, I should just tie you to that bed of yours.”

“It’s _boring_ in here, though — didn’t you hear me the first time?” Eichi’s grin turns into just a simple line, his head tilting to the side like a child. “Besides, this sort of plan…it’s a plan to enhance our own chances at Yumenosaki and to wipe away its sins with our own hands, so why shouldn’t I get involved? I thought it’d be something we’d do together, Keito. I can’t stand not doing any work of my own in the cleansing, and though this plan didn’t work, I’m sure there’s another one that can be devised.”

“I’m doing all of this so that it’s _easier_ for you when you get back, can’t you see that?” Keito crosses his arms, huffing and leaning slightly over Eichi’s bed, atmosphere fuming with his annoyance at the boy’s stubbornness. “Seriously, do you not know how to take care of yourself? There’s only one life that you’re able to live, Eichi, and if you spend it recklessly throwing yourself into things that could cause you harm, then at some point you’re going to break. When that happens, this whole _plan_ falls through the cracks. I’m doing the dirty work so _you_ don’t have to, so that it’ll be easier for you to do whatever you want to do once you come back.”

“But I didn’t _ask_ you to — we could’ve done it side by side.”

“Do you even listen to yourself? There’s no _way_ , Eichi. Your condition’s too fragile.”

“You’re being stupid.”

Eichi’s gaze turns into something new, and Keito feels himself freeze from a moment, his blue eyes radiating a level of anger that he hadn’t quite seen on the blonde’s face before. Surely, could it even match his own? It almost felt like it, the way his eyes remained unwavering and strong, and for a moment, he could see why many people at social gatherings fled at the sight of the Tenshouin heir. “I never _asked_ you to do the dirty work, so why are you putting it there for yourself? And then you come stomping in here, complaining about it…it’s _incorrigible_. Thinking about my health, your condition’s this, your health’s that — out of anyone in this world, I would’ve expected that at least my childhood friend would know that I find those words annoying. But I guess you don’t. I know we’re not kids anymore, that we have responsibilities, but I won’t stand to let you take mine for your own. This body of mine may be weak, but I haven’t let it stop me from pursuing this plan to create a better Yumenosaki, from becoming an idol, from doing what I want. Unless you plan on stopping yourself from putting me _below_ you and start putting me next to your side, I don’t give a damn about what else you’re going to lecture about, _Hasumi-kun_.”

“You’re a brat…” Keito mutters through gritted teeth, the honorific tacked to the end of his name stinging his heart just a little. It’s such a casual thing, but…the sound of ‘Keito’ coming out of Eichi’s mouth was always something he found reassuring, something he found beautiful. “Whatever. If you’re not going to listen, then don’t listen. I don’t want to say anything else to you, anyway. Just…hurry up and recover so you can go to Yumenosaki and do whatever you want.”

“You say that, but I’m just going to be a puppet in the student council for you, aren’t I?”

“If it’s you, then anything we want to have done will be done quicker.”

“That much I understand.” Eichi sighs, looking out of the window of his room. Keito looks, too, but his eyes wander of to the blonde, and he can’t help but feel as if the closeness they shared had been severed. “I’ll cooperate with you that much. If I become a tyrant, though…I wonder who is there to blame.”

* * *

“What are you doing here, Keito? Couldn’t get enough of me during ‘Quarrel Festival’?”

“…Don’t say things like that.” Keito sighs, removing his shoes just like always and slipping into the slippers that were kept around the Tenshouin manor for his visits, an item he didn’t bring personally, but something bestowed upon him by the Tenshouins themselves after realizing just how often he’d swing by.“What, can I not check up on my childhood friend? Is that prohibited now? You used up a lot of your strength during ‘Quarrel Festival’ — ”

“And the days before that, yes.” Eichi shakes his head, smiling just a bit as Keito’s worried expression pans towards his line of vision, eyebrows scrunched together and eyes meandering around Eichi’s face, ripe with the same worried glance he had for years and years. “I should know my unit’s schedule well, right? It’s true that we were tired, but then fought on until the end — that’s ‘fine’ for you. I couldn’t ask for better people to sing alongside me. In any case, that fight was pretty fun, wasn’t it? Fufu, that got me all excited…though I said a lot to both you and Anzu, it made my heart race at a dangerous speed. We’re childhood friends, Keito…~”

“How incorrigible — I don’t know what else to call ourselves.”

Keito pauses when Eichi laughs, face now conveying a more quizzical expression as he watched Eichi hunch over (and his heart clenches for just a bit — was he going to go into another attack?) for a few seconds and then straighten up again, wiping a tear from his eye as the laughter dies out, breathing in and out and then proceeding to continue, albeit his voice a little wobbly from his laughing fit.

“It’s funny, isn’t it? It seemed like just yesterday we were arguing, unable to see eye to eye and swimming in our own miscommunication. Bickering like little kids, getting frustrated and becoming obstinate, trying to convince each other that we were right without much regard — we did all of that, didn’t we? We fought time and time again, but this time…this time we got to settle it. We got to talk it out and understand each other’s thoughts and feelings. That ‘Quarrel Festival’ was a farewell to our old selves, the ones that misunderstood and fought, and a welcome to our new selves. We’ve both changed quite a bit, haven’t we? We both can see into each other’s hearts a little more clearly now. I really think so, Keito, so that’s why…isn’t it funny how we’re freely talking like this, as if we haven’t fought at all? As I thought, I’m the most comfortable when I’m by your side.”

“You…you seriously let that live get to your head.” Keito’s face turns slightly red, trying to keep up with the blonde as he set off for the stairs, starting the climb towards none other than his room.

It’s a familiar pathway, his legs having memorized the right turn and the hallway that had been set up with large windows, shining the summer sun’s light into the structure, the two doors that led into the luxurious and spacious place that was Eichi’s bedroom. Though it was big, it was definitely Eichi’s — manga and anime were set up perfectly in a shelf in the corner, a desk strewn with papers just like his (albeit these were for the family business), a bed lined with the finest linens, a cart with freshly made tea (because it was Eichi who requested that tea be brought to him at certain intervals), as well as a table off to the side with medical supplies and medicine, for it cannot be forgotten that this boy was slowly dying, and though he had all these things and more, they would be rendered useless once their owner dies.

“I can’t forget it, though — it’s been just a day, hasn’t it?” Eichi sits down on the bed and beckons Keito to sit down next to him, to which he complies. He puts up a hand, as if to stop Keito from interrupting whatever spiel he was going into. “And before you ask, _yes_ , I’m fine. I took some medicine right after, and the tank that Anzu had given me during the live helped me get through it. Honestly, if it weren’t for her, I probably wouldn’t passed out…but that’s enough of recaps. We both know what happened.”

“I guess I can see your point — from before, I mean.”

He pauses for a second, smiling just a little, letting it linger before it shakes itself off his face, though the remnants remain in a twitch of his muscles trying to pull his lips back up. His childhood friend wasn’t wrong; a sense of ease had built a bridge where there had once been distance between the two, atmosphere rid of the stuffy pretenses and strained mindsets that plagued them since the initiation of their plans. So it seems as if the destiny of these two childhood friends was to always make up in the end, that their bickering would cease once they fought tooth and nail, once he was forced to look the blonde right in the eye, to see him as an equal rather than something to take care of (though doing so would be difficult, seeing as the blonde was about one centimeter taller than him, but he digresses).

“It feels almost kind of weird, but I suppose that’s the price we pay for acting like little kids. We’re all grown up now for sure — as such, ‘Akatsuki’ and ‘fine’ will surely follow. That’s a nice thought, isn’t it…”

“Fufu, Keito, have you always been this sentimental?”

“I’m reflecting, so shut up for a minute, Eichi.”

“I take back one thing — you’re cold after all. Ow, ow…!” He’s quick to pinch Eichi’s cheek, pulling on it slightly as the blonde loses his playful smile, which had gotten a little _too_ big for his liking.

He lets go so the blonde can talk, and when Eichi finishes rubbing his cheeks, he puts yet another smile on his face, this time a little smaller, but a whole lot more genuine, brandishing something like authenticity and sincerity. “You say we’ve grown up, but…there’s still something child-like in the both of us. I guess that comes with childhood friends, doesn’t it?”

He leans forward now, suddenly squashing the few inches of distance between them, narrowing it down to five centimeters, faces so close to touching and obvious breath being felt on the other side, Keito’s steady, rhythmic breathing quickening a little just by the idea of their sheer closeness (and he realizes that their bodies, in general, had always been close from the start — distance seemed nonexistent, as if they’d unconsciously bridged the gap physically, and he doesn’t have to wonder why that had happened, at least for his side).

“I missed you a lot, Keito.”

“Idiot, I was always here.”

“Fufu, are you confessing to me?”

“You’re the one who — what are we doing, exactly?”

“That’s a fair question.” A hand wraps itself around Keito’s — it’s unexpectedly warm, and just that alone makes him a little dizzy, euphoria subdued yet evident; he truly can’t see inside his childhood friend’s head, but at this moment, he wished he could pry it open and take a look, only to hope that their thoughts would be the same (they were equals, yes — but if it’s on another level, then…), that they would somehow connect, that he was letting himself get a little greedy after such a victory between them. “If there’s one thing I haven’t grown out of, it’s my selfishness, it seems. I’m sorry — I thought that just being able to see eye to eye and mend our bonds would be enough, but I’m still a hungry ‘emperor’ after all…~”

“Then get something to eat.” He mutters this, though it isn’t filled with contempt — right now, his heart was racing as much as Eichi’s, probably, if not a little more. They’ve matured with age, he’ll give them that, but…even so, they can’t seem to grow out of some childish habits after all. How incorrigible.

“If you insist.”

The gap is closed between them when Eichi’s lips are pressed against his, something he wasn’t quite aware he’d be doing when he fought Eichi the day before, when he stepped into this house just to check up on him. How’d it lead to this, exactly? Ah, that’s right — Eichi was a little greedy, he wanted the distance between them to shatter, to become something else.

The kiss tasted something like that, alongside the tea he drank earlier.

“How incorrigible.” Eichi doesn’t look embarrassed at all, beaming at Keito with a soft, unwavering smile that fascinated him all the more, letting him hope and believe that they’d woven something together just now. That was the case, wasn’t it? At least, that’s what it seemed. “How incorrigible — you won’t even explain yourself.”

“Hmm? But is there anything else to explain? It’s simple — I love you, Keito.”

“That’s what I thought.”

He puts his free hand on Eichi’s head, patting it with a sense of familiarity, a sense of relief that could’ve only been given with Eichi’s spoken confirmation. How funny that even with their trials, they’ve come to nurture and grow this feeling — ‘love’ was a strange thing, wasn’t it?

Perhaps that sort of thing was what led to their reconnection the first place — the feeling of wanting to reach out and pull that person next to his side, to watch over him…but of course, after the events of that ‘Quarrel Festival’, that sort of care shouldn’t become overbearing. If it was — well, he’s made a decision to listen for the better of their relationship.

…Whatever that may be right now.

(He didn’t think he’d confess right here, right now; he didn’t think that he’d be pushed to a limit, but the overflowing warmth he felt when he could talk to Keito easily was something he couldn’t ignore. It made him hungrier, it made him eye his prey; though he was easy to catch, the kill was satisfying nonetheless. Living off of his desires and selfishly going after them — this time it seems to have done something good. He was a little honest with his childhood friend now. He professed what he truly felt. That heart-pounding excitement could be found not only in lives as an idol, but in the warmth of his childhood friend’s touch, the conviction in his eyes that attracted him towards him in the first place. If he doesn’t see it, he wants to do everything in his power to point his direction towards it.)

“The truth is obvious, Eichi…that I love you too, that is.” This declaration makes Eichi giddy, makes him squeeze Keito’s hand a little tighter as he hums happily, smiling in a way that surprises yet calms Keito down. “You got excited pretty quickly. This is a little embarrassing, isn’t it…”

“Not at all, not at all! I’m glad we fought, my dear childhood friend…fufu, or should I call you something else now?”


End file.
